Music: The Lone Bellow coming to Boston

Friday

Nov 10, 2017 at 9:59 AMNov 10, 2017 at 10:05 AM

By Jay N. Miller/For The Patriot Ledger

What sets the music of the Lone Bellow apart transcends genre or style. It’s an emotional intelligence and sincerity that enhances the way their words and music resonate. Their latest album, “Walk Into a Storm,” was released on Sept. 15, and the arrangements and approach are the band’s most straightforward yet, delivering the impact of the music better than ever.

The Lone Bellow will perform on Wednesday night at the House of Blues in Boston.

Many fans may know the genesis of the group, which was a potentially tragic accident suffered by Zach Williams’ wife, shortly after their marriage, when she fell off her horse and was paralyzed temporarily. Dealing with her recovery and his own doubts, Williams began writing poetry, and eventually when he shared it, friends encouraged him to learn guitar and make them into songs.

Flash forward a bit, and he formed a band with two friends, singer/mandolinist Kanene Donehy Pipkin and guitarist Brian Elmquist. While all three principals are from the South, they had all been living in Brooklyn when the band began, and their 2013 debut had an immediate impact both for Williams’ literate lyrics and sharply detailed vignettes, and their soaring vocal harmonies.

Consider the rave from critic Justin Wesley in No Depression magazine for that debut album: “Albums as tremendous as the Lone Bellow’s self-titled effort are rare creations with the power to stop you dead in your tracks on first listen.”

The Lone Bellow’s second album, 2015’s “Then Came the Morning,” was produced by Aaron Dessner of the National, and it was a textured soundscape that gave everything an ethereal, somewhat mystical feeling, with the vocals floating amid layers of instruments. The latest album was produced by Dave Cobb, the acclaimed Americana craftsman who has produced stellar work. The new album cuts back on the complex arrangements a bit, seems to aim for a more basic rock sound, and places those lovely vocals and moving words front and center.

We caught up with Williams this week just before they played in North Carolina. Their tour, which has been underway for about two months now, hit its home stretch before concluding Nov. 17.

“I think every record I make is, subconsciously at least, done as a reaction to the one before it,” said Williams. “I think this time we wanted it to breathe, sonically. We had a lot of fun with the layers on our previous record, and created a pretty strong sonic world with ‘Then Came the Morning.’ With this one, we wanted space for the vocals, wanted to be able to really hear the snare drum.

“I didn’t know Dave Cobb,” Williams explained. “But on a visit to Nashville, I had a friend introduce me to Dave, and we talked. I really liked his views on music and decision-making in general. That conversation led to me asking him six months later if he’d be up for producing us.”

Working with Cobb was certainly different than the band’s usual studio routine, which had tended to be prolonged. But an outside factor soon came to influence things, too.

“We had rented out studio space for 30 days, and from the get-go he let us know he never takes that much time to record an album. But then we ended up having a band member going to alcohol rehab, so it ended up taking that long, naturally. But Dave worked six days straight and then came in on weekends and there was no sloughing off. We needed to make quick decisions and that scared us at first. And then after doing the first one or two songs, we all made the decision for our bandmate to get the help he needed. So, we had all that in mind while making decisions about this record, but I think ultimately it worked out better than trying to have a really studied-out process.”

The temporary setback of having Elmquist in rehab while they were trying to record the album also brought out some unexpected support.

“Dave was very gracious about the whole situation,” said Williams. “And we saw a whole other side of the music industry. Our agent is an old-school veteran, who’s worked with the Grateful Dead back in the day, and when he heard about it he called me for a man-to-man talk. He told me if we didn’t put Brian’s health in front of the musical work, he would not work with us again. A lot of people took that position, a side of the music industry we had not seen before. So all of that is in this record, too. You can see behind the curtain, and the topics touch on that. It’s like some songs have a ‘Wizard of Oz’ effect.”

Recording at RCA’s Studio A in Nashville, the Lone Bellow had more room than they needed, but Cobb came up with a unique solution.

“It was the room they used for orchestration,” Williams said. “It’s huge, but these days you don’t need that much space. Dave put a couple couches, a record player, a card table and some chairs in one side of the room. He made the other side a kind of in-the-round recording area. So we could sit around and talk through the songs in the couch area, trade opinions, and by the time we walked over to the recording area, we were all excited to record. Maybe even had our blood boiling, as we’d run over there to record. I think that was one of Dave’s secrets and it really resonated with me. I’m prone to moving quickly; once the lyrics and melody are set, I’m ready to roll. The other members can spend three hours trying to find the right guitar tone, but I’m more into capturing the energy of a new idea.”

On the current tour, the Lone Bellow, expanded to a quintet with bassist/pianist Jason Pipkin (Kanene’s husband) and drummer Justin Glasco, has typically been playing eight of the new songs. Inevitably, live performance can subtly, or not so subtly, alter a tune over time.

“That’s what I love about live shows,” said Williams. “The way the crowd ends up bending the way songs are played. The music takes on a different life when the energy of a room weighs in. I think the best example now is the song ‘May You Be Well’ from the new album, which I had only written to my daughter Loretta. I was just worried I’d be gone too long and she’d forget I love her, so it was mainly just dad stuff. But now I’m noticing with the state of what’s happening in our country, incidents like Texas, people start singing along a lot. It is very moving for me and I think now the definition of what that song is about might be quite different.”

Dates in Boston always mean something more to the band, and not just because the audiences are devoted music fans, but because of some shared history.

“The first night we ever played in Boston was right after the marathon bombings and it was the first night people had been let out after the ‘shelter-in-place’ period,” said Williams. “People were so warm and welcoming, supportive of us and happy to be able to get together. That shared experience formed a bond that makes Boston a very special place for all of us.”

Music preview

THE LONE BELLOW

8 p.m. Wednesday at the House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston. The Wild Reeds open. $25, 1-888-693-2583 or livenation.com.

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